Al-Ahzab · Madani · ayah 72 of 73

Al-Ahzab 33:72

إِنَّا عَرَضْنَا ٱلْأَمَانَةَ عَلَى ٱلسَّمَـٰوَٰتِ وَٱلْأَرْضِ وَٱلْجِبَالِ فَأَبَيْنَ أَن يَحْمِلْنَهَا وَأَشْفَقْنَ مِنْهَا وَحَمَلَهَا ٱلْإِنسَـٰنُ ۖ إِنَّهُۥ كَانَ ظَلُومًا جَهُولًا

“Indeed, We offered the Trust[1214] to the heavens and the earth and the mountains, and they declined to bear it and feared it; but man [undertook to] bear it. Indeed, he was unjust and ignorant.[1215]”

Saheeh International

Essence

The mountains stepped back from the Trust in awe; you took it onto your shoulder, so carry it with His help.

A reflection

The mountains stepped back

The ayah opens with innā ʿaraḍnā, We offered, in the plural of majesty. Then it names the largest things the first hearers could see. The heavens above the desert, the earth beneath it, the mountains standing on its edges. Allah set the Trust before them as goods are laid out for a buyer, their breadth shown. That is the image in the root of ʿaraḍa.

And they declined. Fa-abayna an yaḥmilnahā wa-ashfaqna minhā: they refused to carry it, and were afraid of it.

One commentator draws a sharp contrast here. Iblis also refused, when he would not prostrate (15:31). But his refusal came from arrogance; he thought himself too great. The mountains refused because they thought themselves too small. Theirs was a refusal of humility.

The commentators add that this was an offer, not a command. Had it been commanded, they would not have refused. These are the same heavens and earth that said: we come willingly (41:11). Among the stones are those that fall down in awe of Allah (2:74). An early reading says they declined out of reverence for His religion, afraid they would not do it justice.

The word for their fear, ashfaqna, comes from the thin red glow after sunset. Ishfāq is a heart made thin: care mixed with dread, as a mother frets over her child.

Now consider the one who said yes. A man at the gym photographs his heaviest lift and posts it for strangers. We are the creature that boasts about what it can carry. This ayah shows us what we actually picked up. It is something the mountains stepped back from.

That should quiet any pride. Our greatness, if we have any, is not in our strength. It is in a weight we accepted and cannot carry alone.

Does Allah need anyone to carry it? No. The heavens already obey Him. The Trust was offered for the honour of whoever would bear it, not for any need of His.

The full entry has 7 more reflections, questions to sit with, and "Live it today" - with the words, the roots and the tafsir alongside. Free, no account, works offline.